Saturday, November 13, 2010

After only two weeks on the job, a young Korean woman named Mary H.K. Choi has emerged as the NYT's funniest new writer in ages.

Is it too early for editors to consider moving her brilliant and insightful "Townies" column from the Opinionator blog to the Op-Ed page, and kick Tom Friedman to the curb?

Choi's first effort comically chronicled her multiple moves around New York -- a new apartment for every miserable breakup in her young life, and a long partnership with a moving man who carried her stuff nine times as she criss-crossed the city in search of a permanent place.

This week, Choi's second column confessed the misery a young Korean woman faces getting a pedicure from a middle-aged Korean woman whose grey roots remind her of her mother. It's more than that, really, but we can't do justice to it with a summary.

In October, the Opinionator blog launched a new "Townies" column for fresh young voices. Its first contributor was Sloane Crosley, the popular essayist with two best-selling collections under her belt. Crosley delivered her predictably droll commentaries on predictable topics like cats and New Year's Eve. No surprises.

But the arrival of the considerably less well-known Choi has delivered a dose of comic adrenalin to the Townies column. Her bio identifies her as a writer for The Awl and senior editor for Complex Magazine. Before that she edited something called "Missbehave" and wrote a comic called "Lady Deadpool."

We can easily envision Choi alongside the comedy stylings of Ross Douthat, the hilarious Bob Herbert, and the rest of the op-ed gang. The NYTPicker proudly declares itself pro-Choi.

She's really very bright and very funny. Her Awl articles and chat transcripts are a hoot- it seems like she reined it in a bit for the Times. Look forward to more good stuff from her, she's always worth reading.

As for anonymous #1 ... seriously. Her fan club seems to consist of middle-aged, NYC-based media biz men who'd like to bang her. She scores a good one about twice a year as far as I can tell. Of course, if you're a woman in the NYC-based media biz yourself, that fan club certainly isn't a drag on your career.

Given my cynicism on the media, I hope it doesn't urn out that Ms. Choi has some connection to the nytpicker or its staff. That would make this a shameless plug, not just a complete misunderstanding of what the Op-Ed page is all about.

Plenty of nepotistic untalented freeloading hires at the Time, who may have gooen there after winning over key notables by companionship,

and,

at the risking of being interpreted as a troll, it must be said that the paper leaves its minority hires unmentored and out in the cold, where they comes across as undeserving tokens, an effect which is amplified in a prejudicial culture, further increasing the vulnerability of others onto which their minority status is imposed.

Anyway, it is not to say that Ms. Choi is responsible to overcome such obstacles on her own, but the lowering of quality standard for her inclusion has a worst consequence than lowering standards to keep around some of their worst white female writers (no point naming them, that is what a troll would do).

The seeding and propagation of negative stereotypes (imposed, visible and rewarded enough to be aspired towards by many) mask foreknowledge of the costs. For ex, the cute flirtatious valley girl, may seem popular, and get asked out on dates and have one-night stands, but she will not be taken seriously by the old school chauvinists who judge her worth. The prospects for serious-minded females are even bleaker, with so few allies in high levels to advocate for a reversal of systemic bias.

Was that other funniest mama Alex Kuczynski let go? Her Obsessions column isn't listed any more, though her prickly piece elsewhere on douching her cunt for that extra smooth pre-pube look and feel, might be right up your alley.

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